This invention in general relates to processing information or data over a network of computers. Embodiments of the present invention relate to techniques for monitoring and/or controlling complex processes by comparing the current state of a first process to current, historical, and/or predicted states of the first process or a second process using statistical, structural, or physical models. Other embodiments of the present invention provide a system including computer code for monitoring or controlling, or both monitoring and controlling a process using multi-dimensional data in a commercial setting. The multidimensional data can include, among others, intrinsic information such as temperature, acidity, chemical composition, and color, as well as extrinsic information, such as origin, and age. The multidimensional data can also include symbolic data that is primarily visual in nature and which does not readily lend itself to traditional quantification. Merely by way of example, the present invention is described below in conjunction with an industrial manufacturing process, but it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability. The invention can be applied to monitor and control complex processes in other fields such as chemicals, electronics, biological, health care, petrochemical, gaming, hotel, commerce, machining, electrical grids, and the like. Embodiments of the present invention may further accomplish process control in real time utilizing a web-based architecture.
Techniques and devices for maintaining process control in complex processes are well known. Such techniques often require monitoring individual parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow, incoming fluid characteristics, and the like. Most of these techniques only monitor and adjust a single parameter. The single parameter is often monitored and displayed to an operator or user of the process through an electronic display. For example, refining a petroleum product such as oil or gas often uses temperature measurements of raw or in process fluids such as oil using thermocouples. These thermocouples are often attached to critical processes such as distillation and the like and then coupled to an electronic display for output. The display generally outputs signals corresponding to temperature in a graphical user interface form or numerical value in Celsius, for example. In the most primitive oil refining operations, for example, operators still monitor temperature of a process or processes using the display by visual means. If the temperature goes out of range, the operator merely adjusts the process. In more advanced applications, process controllers monitor and control temperature of processes. The process controllers often use proportional control, derivative control, integral control, or a combination of these to provide an optimum control of temperature for the process. These techniques, however, still only monitor a single parameter such as temperature and adjust such temperature by feedback control means.
Oil refining is merely one of many examples of industrial processes that require control. Other examples include food processing, chemical production, drug manufacturing, semiconductor processing, water treatment, agriculture, assembly operations, health care, electronic power, gaming, hotel, and other commerce related fields. All of these examples generally use fairly crude processing techniques for adjusting complex processing variables such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, speed, and others, one at a time using automatic feed back control or manual feed back control. In some applications, fairly complex sensor assemblies are used to monitor process parameters. U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,374 in the name of Gross et al. and assigned to the University of Chicago, describes one way of monitoring an industrial or biological process using sensors. This conventional approach relies upon comparing a measured signal against a reference signal by subjective criteria. However, the subjective criteria have often been determined by trial and error and are only as good as the person deciding upon such criteria.
Many limitations still exist with some or all of these techniques. For example, most of these techniques still only monitor a single parameter and adjust it against a subjective reference point. Human monitoring of multiple parameters is often required, which is only as good as the human operator. Additionally, many if not all of these techniques cannot monitor the quality of a substance in process. Here, only extrinsic variables such as temperature, pressure, and the like can be easily monitored. There is simply no easy way to monitor the substance itself while it is being processed. Although complex chemical analysis methods are available to determine specific components or weights of the substance, there is simply no easy way to identify the quality of the substances while it is being manufactured. These and many other limitations are described throughout the present specification and more particularly below.
From the above, it is seen that improved ways of monitoring or controlling a process, or both monitoring and controlling a process, are highly desirable.